Altered Perceptions
by emilynoel11
Summary: When Syaoran is attacked by Death Eaters and his father is killed, he's sent to Hogwarts for protection. Harry, Ron, and Hermione just want to know who the mysterious new members of the Order are. The truth turns out to be more than anyone expected.


Chapter 1

"No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meetings over, and then we'll have dinner. Hurry along, and please keep your voice down." Mrs. Weasley said in an urgent whisper.

"Why?"

"I don't want anything to wake up. Especially our guest, he shouldn't be disturbed."

"What d'you-?"

"I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting. Ron and Hermione are on the second landing, first door on the right. Oh, speaking of our guest-" Mrs. Weasley paused, pulled out her wand and called out, '_Accio tray_'. A silver tray, filled with a plate of food and a glass of milk flew towards her, the milk coming dangerously close to spilling. She turned back to him, placing the tray into his hands.

"Be careful with this, alright? Give it to Syaoran; don't worry, Ron and Hermione will show you to his room. If he's awake, can you tell him the meeting has started? If he's still sleeping, just leave the tray and don't bother him. He's – oh, I suppose you'll hear all about it from those two!" Mrs. Weasley gave him a strained smile before hurrying off to the kitchen.

Harry simply followed her directions, feeling very confused. He quickly made his way to the second landing. The door on the right began to open as he walked towards it, and a familiar face stepped out. His bushy-haired friend, Hermione Granger, saw him and made to throw her arms around him, but quickly stopped herself as she noticed the delicate tray he held.

Leaning back into the room, she exclaimed, "Ron! Ron, Harry's here! Oh, Harry, I've missed you so much!" She was positively beaming, and Ron also quickly appeared at the door, grinning.

"Hello, mate. It's been a while, hasn't it? That for Syaoran?" Ron asked, gesturing towards the food.

"Yeah," Harry felt a swell of anger rise in his chest, but swallowed it for the moment, opting instead to save it until after he had delivered his package. "Who is this Syaoran anyway?"

Ron winced, noticing the poorly disguised anger in Harry's voice. "He's a kid, like us; arrived about a month ago in bad shape. To be honest, we don't know all that much about him, but I'll show you his room."

Without answering, Harry followed Ron down the hallway. They didn't go far, but Harry's arms began to tire under the weight of the tray. They stopped three dusty, ancient doors down from the one Hermione and Ron had just exited. Ron shifted nervously from foot to foot before silently opening the door and stepping back.

Whatever he had been expecting of the mysterious Syaoran, it wasn't this.

The room was plain, as was the bed the stranger was lying on – Harry didn't pay much attention to that. His attention was riveted on the man – no, the boy – who slept there.

He couldn't see much other than the boy's face, since the rest was covered under blankets, but he appeared to be Harry's height, if not taller. He was a brunette with a sharp, angular face, but some softness was retained in his slumber. Some of his hair fell over his eyes and innocent face – so seemingly innocent, in fact, that Harry had a hard time imagining who would have wanted to hurt him.

And Syaoran was definitely hurt. Stark white bandages covered the boy's left eye, indicating a recent injury. His uncovered brow was pulled slightly taught, and the rigidness of his body made it obvious that he was in pain, even in his sleep. Despite all of that, the fact that the boy looked so _young_, probably no older than Harry himself, was the most surprising thing. He was so absorbed by these thoughts that he didn't notice Syaoran had woken until he spoke.

"Who's there?" The one uncovered eye opened, revealing brown eyes only a shade lighter than the boy's hair. The voice was soft, polite, yet there was an underlying emotion in his voice that Harry couldn't quite make out.

At the sound, Harry jumped, his gaze moving back to Syaoran's now-open eye. He scrambled over, quickly setting the tray of food on the table next to his bed. He turned to leave, but stopped himself, remembering the message from Mrs. Weasley.

"Uhm… Mrs. Weasley wanted me to tell you that the meeting has started," Harry said quickly, before dashing out of the room.

He slammed the door shut behind him, unsure why he had been so nervous. There was just something about the other boy that made him uneasy.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind, he met Ron's curious eyes. Somehow, his friend understood what he was feeling and thankfully didn't say anything, merely turned and led the way back to the first room.

"Why is he here? What happened to him?" He asked quietly, not wanting his voice to carry back down the hallway.

"We don't really know. No one tells us anything; they just keep saying not to worry, that it's Order business. About a month ago, a big bloke named Kurogane – he's a member of the Order. You'll meet him later, he's downstairs at the meeting – just showed up with that kid in his arms, pale as a ghost and blood everywhere. We only saw him for a few seconds before they barricaded him in the kitchen. They were in there for hours, trying to heal him, and when they were done, all they'd say about him was that his name was Syaoran and that he was not to be disturbed." Ron explained.

"Have you spoken to him?" Harry asked.

"A few times, here and there, but not much. He's joined a few of the meetings, but he's mostly been stuck in that room for the past month, healing."

"Hasn't he seen a healer? If he's that hurt, why didn't they take him to St. Mungo's or something?"

This time it was Hermione who answered. "The Order has someone who's seen to him. Apparently he's not a mediwizard, but his name is Fai, he's also at the meeting tonight so you might meet him as well. From what we've managed to learn, he's quite talented, but for some reason it doesn't seem like he can do much for Syaoran. Ron and I have a theory, though..."

"A theory?"

"Yes. We think he was attacked by Death Eaters, which would explain why they wouldn't bring him to St. Mungo's – if they're still looking for him, he wouldn't be safe there. It might also explain why his wounds haven't been healed. If they're cursed, healing magic won't help him much, so he'd have to heal at the normal rate." She explained.

"That still doesn't answer why he was attacked, though..."

"We know," Ron responded, "but everyone's being very quiet about it, they keep saying it's 'Order business' and we don't need to know."

"That's another thing. What's this 'Order' you keep talking about?"

* * *

><p>Syaoran sighed as the door closed behind the boy, pushing himself slowly into a sitting position, carefully avoiding aggravating his injuries. <em>He never told me his name, but he must be Harry, since I didn't recognize his presence<em>.

He had known the moment Harry and the others had arrived at the house. A large group of the Order of the Phoenix had accompanied him, so the sudden appearance of so many different auras had roused him from his deep sleep. Mokona's excessive chatter had also ceased as he went to check it out. Ever since Syaoran had been hurt, Mokona had become fiercely protective.

The footsteps outside his door had alerted him to Harry and Ron's approach. Ron's footsteps were familiar, but the other pair wasn't. When the boy had entered his room, the shocked silence hadn't gone unnoticed by Syaoran. Not wanting to scare him, Syaoran had initiated communication slowly. The boy's nervousness had been expected, but there was something else about him, something familiar that he couldn't quite put his finger on...

Now that Harry had gone, however, and the angry yelling had started from the other room, Syaoran found that he couldn't get back to sleep. He didn't feel like eating, but now he was too awake to go back to sleep. He knew that Fai would bother him if he didn't eat, but really wasn't hungry. He could always eat something later.

Besides, he really should be at the Order's meeting.

He mused on that thought for a moment, knowing it was a miracle they had allowed him into the Order, considering he was under the age limit. Molly Weasley had been the most displeased, but Albus, Sirius and Remus had all agreed that, considering the circumstances, he deserved to be included.

He had missed most of the meetings because his health kept him stuck in bed, but he was glad that he was allowed to go when he could and that he wasn't left completely in the dark. However, that didn't stop them from conveniently letting him sleep through the meetings. Or somehow forgetting to mention them until the last minute.

The two loud cracks from Ron and Harry's room, probably Fred and George apparating, ended the yelling and made Syaoran's decision.

"Mokona?" He called out, blindly.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a large, white, puffed-up animal-type thing, with long white ears materialized. "Don't worry, Syaoran! Mokona will guide you," the creature's high-pitched voice replied. The puffball conveniently didn't mention that he forgot to wake Syaoran up in time to get downstairs for the meeting, but he let it go.

Mokona Modoki had been Syaoran's constant companion ever since Syaoran and his father had found him, hurt, floating around the dark streets of Egypt.

Syaoran hissed at the pain as he stood. In the attack, his left eye hadn't been the only thing that was damaged. His right ankle had been severely damaged, some of his ribs broken or horribly bruised, and he had been covered with cuts and bruises.

Most of them had healed in the past month, but his ribs and ankle still gave him some trouble. His eye most of all had been very slow to heal.

Since he had been able to get out of bed, Syaoran had been forced to rely on Mokona to be his eyes. He trusted his loyal companion, but he felt unbearably weak and helpless without his sight. However, there was nothing he could do until his left eye healed. With his right eye the way it was, and his left damaged, he was completely blind.

And it terrified him.

When he had first woken up to the complete darkness, he had nearly lost it. Since then, the only thing that kept him sane was the knowledge that his eyesight was very likely to return.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he slowly began to walk, with Mokona as his guide. His sense of where things were had been horrible at first, but he had become better as the days without vision passed.

With Mokona perched on his shoulder, whispering directions in his ear, he made his way out of his room and down the stairs. He nearly bumped into Molly Weasley as he passed Harry and Ron's room, and he stopped a moment to chat, oblivious to the open door beside him and the four pairs of eyes.

"Is the meeting over already?" He questioned blindly, looking at where he sensed her aura strongest. It had always been the strangest feeling, to talk into the darkness…

"Yes, dear. I'm afraid Severus has just left, but Sirius will fill you in on what you missed, don't worry. But do you really think you should be walking around already?" Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley. I won't be up long, I promise. I just need to speak to Sirius," With a quick goodbye, Syaoran quickly continued down the hall.

He had contracted a slight fever a few days before and been forced back to strict bedrest once again, but woke feeling fine today. Fai had hesitantly agreed to let him come to the meeting that night, but it obvious now that he had expected Syaoran to sleep through it.

He reached the stairs and noticed that the other children, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George had begun to follow; they were going down for dinner now that the meeting was over, he assumed.

Going down the two flights of stairs had been his greatest obstacle ever since he began to leave his room. There was only so much Mokona could do; it was up to him to judge the distance between the first step and the second.

The first time down, he ended up at the bottom much quicker than he intended, which didn't help his healing process. Since that first time, he had become more accustomed to how far it was between each step, but it still wasn't uncommon for him to miss a step.

In front of the other children, and the Order of the Phoenix he knew was below, however, he couldn't afford to fall. The Order knew about his eyes, but he had felt that Harry, Ron and the others didn't need to know. They knew his left was hurt, but the blindness in his right was still a mystery to them.

Syaoran took each step slowly, but he somehow managed to reach the bottom without tripping. He breathed a sigh of relief, and, avoiding the crowd of Order members, he found his way to the kitchen, with Mokona's help. However, he didn't need any help to discern the different people in the kitchen, all of which, he guessed, had looked up and greeted him upon his arrival.

"Good evening, Arthur, Mundungus, Bill, Sirius, Fai, Kurogane," Syaoran said, to various replies.

He opened his mouth to ask, but Fai had somehow known what he was going to ask.

"Don't worry about it, Syaoran! We'll fill you in, but you might as well wait until Harry gets here. I'm sure he'll be asking lots of questions, too, so most of yours will probably end up answered then," Fai explained, and Syaoran could only guess that he was smiling.

"Alright. Thank you, Fai," He said, deciding to take the chair beside the healer.

"Are you in pain, Syaoran? I'm still worried about that fever of yours." Fai said, and Syaoran could hear the concern in his voice.

"I'm just tired, as usual," He replied, ignoring the throbbing behind his eyes and the flame behind his ribs. Fai said nothing, but it took longer for Kurogane's eyes to leave him.

Out of nowhere, there came a familiar shrieking from the other room.

"Not again, Tonks," he heard Sirius mutter and leave the room.

After a few minutes, after the screams of Ms. Black had faded, Sirius, Tonks and Molly returned, and Syaoran could tell they weren't alone.

"Sit down, Harry," Sirius said, gesturing towards one of the many chairs before choosing one himself. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"

"Not really…" Harry replied.

"Ah, well…" Sirius appeared to be at a loss for a moment, before turning around and kicking Mundungus' chair. "Get up, Dung, meetings over."

"Well, Harry, I'm sure you've met Syaoran? Ron and Hermione probably told you about him, if you haven't," Sirius tried again.

"Yeah, briefly," Harry muttered, looking strangely nervous.

Syaoran, who had been previously leaning back in his chair, sat up and opened his uncovered eye. "Hello. I suppose we weren't properly introduced the last time, right? Nice to meet you, Harry," He said, and Sirius continued the introduction.

"Right. Harry, this is…" Sirius started, but was cut off by Fai's exuberant response.

"Good evening! Harry Potter, right? It's Professor Fluorite, but that Professor thing is only for school. Since my first name is really long, you can call me Fai!" The blue-eyed blonde said, flashing his million-watt smile.

Fai turned to the big man beside him. "This big guy here is Kuro-"

"Don't even say it. It's Kurogane to you, kid," Kurogane said.

Molly Weasley quickly recruited people to help her make dinner, leaving only Sirius, Harry, Syaoran and Mundungus at the table.

"Had a good summer so far?"

"No, it's been lousy," Said Harry.

"Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."

"What?"

"Personally, I'd have welcomed a Dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotone nicely. You think you've had it bad; at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get into a few fights… Syaoran and I have been stuck inside for a month," Sirius complained.

"How come?" Harry asked, throwing a glance towards Syaoran.

"Me, for obvious reasons," Syaoran commented.

"Yeah and…" Sirius continued, but then Syaoran stopped listening, a horrible headache beginning to form behind his eyes.

For as long as he could remember, his senses had been more acute than most peoples'; to make up for the lack of sight in one eye, he assumed. But ever since the attack and he had gone totally blind, his senses had been on overdrive. Inside his quiet room, it hadn't bothered him much, but downstairs, with everyone else around, it was much louder, almost overwhelming.

Syaoran gently rubbed his temples, aware that Fai and Kurogane would be watching him like hawks, but not bothering to care. By the time he slowly turned his attention back to the world around him, Sirius and Molly were arguing over Harry. Molly had probably assumed he had already eaten what Harry brought up to his room, but he wasn't hungry anyway, so it didn't bother him that she hadn't offered him dinner.

"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," Lupin said. "He's old enough to decide for himself, and we've allowed others to join due to... _special_ circumstances. The least we can do is give him some information." Syaoran knew he was referring to himself, but he also knew there was no menace behind the man's words.

"I want to know what's been going on," Harry said at once.

"Very well," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice cracking. "Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George – I want you out of this kitchen, now." Syaoran knew she would have sent him away too, if she could. After some fighting, Molly Weasley was forced to give in, but she didn't go quietly.

"Fine. Fine! Ginny – bed!"

"What? No!" Ginny wailed.

"Yes, now go!" Mrs. Weasley insisted.

Grasping at straws, Ginny realized something. "Why do I have to go? You're not even trying to force Syaoran out of here!"

There was a shocked silence, and Syaoran sighed. He had been doing that a lot lately, but somehow he knew this would come up.

Fai was the one who decided to answer.

"Syaoran is an official member of the Order."

There was an instant uproar, and Molly Weasley ushered Ginny out.

"He's younger than us!" Fred and George were outraged.

"Syaoran's reasons for being in the Order are his own," Sirius' tone indicated that the matter was not up for discussion. "Now, Harry, what did you want to know?"

Fred, however, didn't let it go. "Harry's first question should be why someone underage is in the Order when he himself isn't!"

"_Fred_." His mother said warningly, and he fell silent.

To Syaoran's benefit, there were more pressing concerns for Harry at the moment and the conversation was quickly steered away from that topic.

Unfortunately, however, it wasn't long before they were satisfied with other topics and their thoughts drifted back to the strangers sitting at their table.

"You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway." Mrs. Weasley scolded, determined to end the meeting and send her children to bed.

"Why not?" Harry said quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."

"No."

It was not Mrs. Weasley who spoke this time, but Lupin.

"The Order is comprised only of overage wizards, wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you... I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius half-shrugged, but did not argue. The others, however, did.

"But that isn't fair! Syaoran isn't of age yet!" Fred said once again, still outraged.

"Syaoran has seen more than most of you. The Order has made a special exception for him." Fai said quietly from beside him.

"More than Harry? He's fought You-Know-Who more than once! How come he can appear out of nowhere and be allowed to know Order secrets but Harry can't?" Ron argued.

This time it was Kurogane who answered, snorting as if in amusement. "The boy has skills Potter doesn't."

"What _skills_? The same ones that got him those injuries?" Harry said incredulously, anger clouding his mind and turning his words harsh.

The room fell deathly silent. Sirius gave him a sharp look and Kurogane's gaze turned dark, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Even Harry, now that they had left his mouth, went quiet with regret for his insensitive words.

Syaoran's anger flared as he thought about the circumstances that allowed him into the Order. This time, he broke the silence, his words scathing."From the stories I've heard, even you were injured quite badly after encountering Voldemort."

A few people gasped or cringed at the name while the ones who didn't know Syaoran's story gaped in shock. "_You_ fought Voldemort?" Ron managed to get out, speaking the words on all of their minds.

"Well, I didn't fight _him_, exactly, but if you have some tips on how to avoid being attacked and tortured by Voldemort and five Death Eaters, I'd love to hear them so I can be prepared for it next time."

Once again, it went quiet enough that they could have heard a pin drop.

Syaoran sighed, no longer angry. Sarcasm wasn't usually his thing, but he was just so _tired_.

"Your question was why am I allowed to join the Order of the Phoenix, and I will tell you this because I want all of you to know to realize how serious our situation is. My father, Fujitaka, found me on the streets when I was seven years old. For some reason, I have no memories from before that time, so I don't know who my real parents are, but as far as I am concerned, Fujitaka was and always will be my father. Instead of sending me to Hogwarts, he decided to teach me magic himself, and about his passion, archeology.

"As you know, the attack happened about a month ago. It was my 15th birthday and my father decided to take a day off from his work to celebrate. We had been planning on going somewhere nice; now I can't even remember where," He had to stop, taking a deep breath. It was the first time he had actually told other people about it himself. Kurogane had filled everyone in on what happened while he had been unconscious in those first few days in the mansion. Once he was healthy enough, he had been asked a lot of questions about the attack, but he had never had to retell the entire story in one sitting. He felt the tears begin to build at the corner of his blind eye, but blinked it back.

"We were attacked that morning. I don't know why, but Voldemort just showed up at my door, bringing five Death Eaters with him. Everything happened very quickly, that day." He stopped, suddenly unable to speak past the lump in his throat. No one said anything, but he jumped a little when he felt Fai's long, slim fingers grasp his shoulder. Syaoran swallowed a few times, and was able to continue.

"My father was in the back room, so when they knocked at the door, I was the one to answer it. The Death Eaters wore white masks and Voldemort's hood was up – I couldn't see any of their faces. I was uneasy, but it wasn't uncommon for people of different religions to visit. My father's skills as an archaeologist were renowned, and many people of different cultures came to speak with him. I think I thought the masks were part of their religion or culture or something. My father had told me about you, Harry, about the Order, the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, but never in depth. I never knew what they looked like, otherwise I... Well, they didn't say much, but they asked for Fujitaka, and I was about to invite them inside when my father returned.

"I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw them. It was like, at that moment, he knew he was going to die. And just by seeing his face, I knew, too. It was the worst feeling in the world to know such a thing, and not be able to change it.

"They forced their way inside, tried asking him questions about you; I don't remember exactly what. My father had been a part of the Order during Voldemort's first rise to power, and they knew him. This time, however, he had me to look after, and didn't get involved with the new Order. He helped if he could, but he wasn't a major part, and he definitely didn't know anything about what they wanted from him. When he couldn't answer…

"Two words were all it took Voldemort to kill my father, right in front of my eyes, and then the Death Eaters turned to me. I tried to fight them. For some reason they didn't want me dead because if they had, I would be, yet somehow they knew my moves before I made them. They knew my fighting style, and how to counter it. It was chilling; it was as if they knew everything about me. There was a struggle, and the last thing I remember was a spell, heading for my face, but after that, there's nothing." His hand had unconsciously risen to cover his bandaged eye, but he quickly pulled it away.

"From what we've managed to guess, they tortured me for hours. They came in the morning and I wasn't found until early evening, but it seems the Death Eaters couldn't get what they wanted from me, or maybe Voldemort was interrupted. I'm not really sure because someone placed a memory charm on me. Our guess was that it was one of the Death Eaters. We think that they didn't want anyone to know why they were there or what information they wanted from me. But whoever it was, they were a powerful wizard because so far, no one has been able to break the memory charm; the only person who can, I suppose, is the one who placed it on me.

"I can't say I'm sorry about that, because I don't think I want to remember. Anyway, Kurogane was a friend of the family, and he was going to visit that day. He was the one who found me, very close to death, and took me here. Although my father was part of the Order as well, he hadn't actually been a part of things since the last time Voldemort was active, so he never thought he would be hurt, and definitely not killed. So, while Kurogane is technically my guardian, he has no legal hold over me, unlike Harry and Sirius. Therefore, the decision to join the Order was my own, and I was definitely not about to ignore the chance to help destroy my father's killer." He finished.

For a long moment, no one spoke, but then Fred's curiosity got the best of him.

"Why don't you just heal your injuries with magic?" He questioned.

"If I could, I would have, but it seems that Voldemort wanted me to be disposed of for a little while, and cursed them, making them unable to be healed with magic. Slowly but steadily, I've been getting better. That's probably why you've been seeing so much more of me lately. But don't you see? The Order keeps secrets and they have rules on who can join for a reason.

"You're all so very _naïve_, and your arguments only prove that. The only people who might be able to be allowed here are Fred and George, since they are of age, but ultimately it is still Molly and Arthur's decision. _Maybe_ another exception could be made for Harry, but not for all of you. We all already know that by the end of this night, Ginny will know everything we've talked about tonight, too. If Harry can't keep Order information to himself, and the only reason the rest of you are here is because he can't, then that's merely more proof that he isn't ready to know anything in the first place."

Despite being humbled a bit by Syaoran's story, Harry still felt anger rise in his chest at the comments. "Easy for you to say! You've been allowed into these secret meetings!"

"Did you ever stop to think that you know so much more than you think you do? How many other children have had their parents murdered by Voldemort? How many of them are still oblivious? You and I, at least we know there is an organization out there set on bringing down Voldemort, but so many people still live in fear of his return or are completely oblivious to it."

"But that's not the point. Do you still not understand? Did you ever stop to think that maybe there was a reason Dumbledore didn't want you to know anything? Not to mention the fact that you're still in school and not yet an adult, but you're also Voldemort's number one target. What if he were to kidnap and torture _you_?

"I was just the kid of some random former Order member and he sought me out. I've been training with my magic as well as physical combat skills since before you even knew you were a wizard, but I still couldn't fight him off. You may have done so in the past, but you've almost always had help, and what if that luck runs out? Do you think you could stand up to his torture?

"I may not be able to remember much, but the Order, and I, can rest easy knowing that I couldn't have told Voldemort any important information because _I didn't know any_. Yeah, now I get to sit in on the meetings once in a while, but do you really think they tell me everything? It's possible Voldemort might come after me again, and they won't risk telling me anything that could hurt them if it was revealed under torture. Incidents like mine are exactly why they don't give out sensitive information so easily, and you all should be grateful that they don't. Everyone here is still alive only _because_ they don't."

There was another uncomfortable silence, but at least this time he felt like something had been accomplished. Fred and George slumped, defeated, but it looked like Harry and Hermione were at least considering his words. Someone had needed to wake them up to the realities of the situation – he just wished he hadn't had to do it.

With his anger long since gone and his point made, he wanted nothing more than to return to his room and grieve in peace. He was sick of answering questions about the attack, sick of the looks he knew, even without seeing, that they gave him.

Syaoran rose quickly and made to leave, the chair scraping loudly against the floor as it pushed back, but his ankle buckled under his abrupt movements. For a few long seconds, he felt himself falling, but he somehow managed to catch himself on the edge of the table, stopping his fall, but it jarred his ankle and ribs, sending pain coursing through his body.

"Syaoran!" Fai and Kurogane jumped up. He could feel the tension in the air, and he knew everyone was staring at him in surprise and shock.

He took a moment, trying to regulate his breathing past the pain in his chest. At the moment, he couldn't bring himself to care if the others thought him weak, but he could feel the tension in the air, and he knew everyone was staring at him in surprise and shock.

"I'm fine, Kurogane, Fai. It was my ankle; I should have been more careful, considering the fact that I haven't been using it much. Don't worry, it didn't hurt it that much," Syaoran said before they could ask, but he could sense the disbelief on their faces. "No more than usual, at least." He said truthfully. He heard them sit down slowly, but he knew that their eyes never left him.

"Anyway, I'm exhausted. Can I be excused, or do you need me for something else?" Syaoran said.

"No, that's fine. Go get some sleep," Sirius replied, his voice strangely quiet.

Syaoran nodded, and turned to leave, but Kurogane's deep voice slowed his departure.

"Hey, kid."

"Yes?"

"Get a lot of sleep; those bandages on your eyes are coming off tomorrow."

Syaoran didn't reply – his smile said it all. But by the time he reached his room, the smile had faded.

It was not his first sleepless night, and he knew it wouldn't be his last.

* * *

><p>AN: This is something I've had lying around for a long time. I have an outline for this whole story, but no idea when I'll get around to actually writing it. This first chapter is pretty rough since it's so old, but even so I decided just to post it. Please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


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